NAL’s Ship Comes In—for Linac
Hamburg-Chicago Line freighter Zosma
Several weeks before the Fall shipping season on the Great Lakes ended, a ship with cargo for NAL arrived in Chicago. Here, at Navy Pier, stands the Hamburg-Chicago Line freighter Zosma with major components of the Cockcroft-Walton—the pre-accelerator which will be part of the NAL 200 MeV system. The Cockcroft-Walton, manufactured in Switzerland, was shipped in a large container which occupied space on the ship amidst German wines and beers.
Glenn Lee, Linac engineer, reports that his section is awaiting word from the contractor developing the Linear Accelerator enclosure that he is ready to put it in place. At present, the Cockcroft-Walton stands on a truck near the Linac laboratory buildings. Lee expects that the pre-accelerator will be assembled under NAL supervision sometime during December, 1969. It will be attached to the high voltage generator in the Linac building enclosure.
If all goes well, the pre-accelerator should produce a proton beam sometime in January, 1970. It is possible a million volts could be generated by this huge machine which sports blue-enameled supporting columns and highly-polished aluminum high-voltage domes and corona rings.
For posterity’s sake, motion pictures were taken of the ship’s arrival in Chicago. It has been on the seas and in various ports for more than a month before reaching the city.